I’d spent the last 2 weeks, on leave and in HK. Without a vacation plan, I was unsure how to occupy my time and more than anything did not want to spend it watching movies, sleeping late and window-shopping. The week before my leave started, I had a Eureka moment – why not spend that time Hiking. HK is blessed with a mountaineous region and the Govt is good at preserving the natural parks. There are 4 main trails in HK – Wilson, MacLehoe, Lantau and HK. Having very little knowledge of the trails, I decided to follow the guidelines set by AFCD.

My first attempt was the Lantau trail, 70km-long and broken up into 12 stages. It took me 6 days (of 4hour days) to complete the whole trail and in the process:

What an experience! The first day was torture on the body but it got better. For all the hard work, I was rewarded by awesome sights, an improved mental and physical wellbeing and a sense of achievement.

There are 2 shops selling dim sum and when I was there, it was packed with people. The unique thing about these dim sum shops is the way it is sold. Totally DIY- the food is laid out and you take the ones you like, you would need to rinse and take your own tea cups, tea pot, utensils and pour your own tea. The food was alright, regular dim sum fare but it was very cheap, definitely cheaper than those sold in the restaurants. I liked the fact that I don’t have to try to explain what I want and instead could just look and take the ones that caught my fancy.

Old-Style Dim Sum at Chuen Long Village

It was quite a journey to get to this Village, you’ll have to take a Green Mini bus no. 80 from Tsuen Wan town centre. The bus ride itself is quite an adventure, as the route is winding and uphill + a crazy bus driver = vomit-inducing ride.

Near the dim sum shops, is a watercress farm. Someone told me it’s the largest such farm in HK. I guess if you’re interested in watercress, you’d appreciate this fact. Along the way, I passed several farmers selling their fresh and organic produce.

To work off the dim sum, I decided to hike for 3-hours along Tai Mo Shan, coming down near Ting Kau. It was a foggy day, so visibility was poor. However the views from the mountain top was still WOW. I could see TsingYi on one side and Ma Wan Island on the other.

Today, I joined another adventurous hike in Sai Kung. This hike is different from the previous few because it is literally whacking bushes and creating new paths. I’d heard alot about Sai Kung but never took the trouble to visit before. This is because there is no direct MTR connection, instead you’ll have to take the MTR to either Diamond Hill or Choi Hung and then change to a bus. Sai Kung is famous for seafood, the novelty being that you could choose fresh (still flipping, alive) seafood from the ferry pier and then bring it to the restaurants to be cooked. I heard that seafood is cheaper here than in HK Island but I didn’t have any and can’t tell if its true.

Fisherman selling fresh seafood by the pier. The customers are standing above at the railing, pointing and shouting out their orders

Some of the previous hikes were on concrete paths and we never strayed too far away from signpost. This hike started off on a well-defined grassy, mostly uphill path. It was quite streneous for me and I was struggling with the constant uphill. Luckily the group was considerate and stopped several times along the way, mostly for photo opportunities and to rest the heart! The hike is considered hardcore for me because it was trully back to nature. About 2/3 through the hike, we came to the bushes – this is why the hike was called a bush-whack. Some of the bushes were taller than me and I didn’t know where to look, down where I was stepping or side, to hold the branches from swinging at me or front, to see what to expect!

I sure am glad, I wasn't clearing the path

The views at the top was wow, I don’t know enough words to describe the feeling of seeing GOD’s creation :

I hiked today, starting from Tsuen Wan and ended up 4 hours later in Tai Po. This hike was a little harder than the one up Tai Tam Reservoir, because there are more uphills than downhill. This is a picture of the Shing Mun Reservoir within the park. Spring is about the best time to hike, as the sun is shining, hardly any rain and it’s not as cold as winter.

Yesterday (Sunday) I joined a group of hikers on a 3.5 hour hike through Tai Tam Country Park. This time, I brought my camera and took a few pictures to remember the trip by. We started the hike at 1pm and finished by 4.30pm, just in time to wallop a bowl of steaming noodle soup.

The weather was nice – it was foggy and cold but did not rain. The trail was not difficult, although there were afew uphill parts that made me pant loudly (showing how unfit I am), several muddy, slippery patches that made me very cautious, trying not to soil my Nike pants and shoes (!) and many breath-taking views. This hike was rated 2/5 and considered one of the easier ones. It is relatively short and covered a distance of 7-8 km. Within the Country Park is a reservoir with green water on one-side and the other-side was a blanket of greenery:

Tai Tam Reservoir

We also passed a stunning view of Repulse Bay, on our way down the mountain. I’m begining to appreciate the natural side of HK, it has its beauty and the best thing is, it’s quite easily accessible. This Country Park is on HK island and to get here, you just need to take Bus no. 6 from Exchange Square Bus Terminal, Central. Fare is less than HKD8.